Time to go on the offensive on Europe?

It’s pretty much a given in the Liberal Democrats that the party doesn’t talk about Europe in its leaflets. It’s with good cause too. Firstly, it isn’t actually one of the top concerns of voters when they are asked in opinion polls what their biggest issues are. Just like electoral reform, it comes well down the list after all the big ones like health, education, crime, transport and so on. But also, there is an understandable reluctance for Lib Dems to talk about an issue on which it is perceived that the party is out of touch with the voters.

The Liberal Democrats are currently under a certain amount of fire for taking the view that there shouldn’t be referendum on the Lisbon Treaty. Whilst I understand the logic behind that position and whilst I also accept the clear distinction as to why a referendum was needed on the European Constitution when one isn’t needed on the Lisbon Treaty, it isn’t a view that I hold. Whatever the technical differences, as explained very clearly by James Graham, the public is under the distinct impression that one was guaranteed and we cannot now renege on that.

But despite this criticism, I do believe that the offer of a referendum on the European Union as a whole is a good move. It gives the Liberal Democrats an opportunity to go in to the next European elections with a very clearl offer to the public – if you vote Lib Dem you will get a party that is guaranteeing you a referendum on what the EU has become, not on what you thought it was back in the 1970s. It is something that both pro-Europeans and anti-Europeans can support, and it is something that is clear and unambiguous. It appeals to those who thought that they were duped in the original referendum and it gives those who are younger than that a chance to have their say. But if we are to have something clear like this as a message we have to start promoting it now.

Next year’s European Elections are going to be tough for all parties. The number of UK MEPs goes down again which will hit the Lib Dems, Labour are doing even worse in the opinion polls, UKIP won’t have the ‘glamour’ of Robert Kilroy-Silk to help their campaign, and the Conservatives are split between their pro and anti European MEPs. So if the Liberal Democrats come up with something that sets them apart from the others, it will be a huge boost.

One thing that does set the Lib Dems apart in General and Local Elections is working all year round and telling people what they are doing on their behalf. Some Liberal Democrat MEPs, such as Sharon Bowles, Chris Davies and Fiona Hall, are also good at doing that in their regions. But why is this a minority and why do we not do it more extensively? If we believe in keeping in touch all year round, our MEPs need to make sure that local leaflets regularly contain stories about what their MEPs are doing that benefits them. At the time of the last European Elections I was based in Eastleigh, and every constituency leaflet included articles about work that Chris Huhne was doing as their MEP. The Lib Dem vote at the European Elections rose significantly in Eastleigh as people knew that he was working hard on their behalf. I can’t deny that it helped that he was the PPC as well, but we had similar results in other parts of the South East where his work was also being promoted.

But I do not believe that promoting the work of our MEPS will be enough on its own. We have all too often been characterised as a bunch of eurofanatics that are completely out of touch with reality. If you look at Lib Dem policy on Europe, that is an unfair characterisation. But what we need to counteract it is a really strong message that will say clearly where we do stand. A referendum on the EU as a whole is something that has that clarity. It is only 16 months until the next European Elections, and so if we are to get that message across we need to start selling it to people now.

But there is to me one other very strong reason why we need to be pushing that message, and not least to our own members and supporters. Unless Gordon Brown calls a General Election as well, it is likely that the only elections next year will be European Elections and County Council Elections. Large parts of the population therefore only have the European Elections. How on earth are the Lib Dems going to motivate their members and activists to go out and campaign in the mets and unitaries, unless they feel they have something strong that is worth campaigning for? A good clear campaign message will do that.

Liberal Democrats have shown from where they are fighting the BNP in Yorkshire and the North West, that can they take the fight to the other parties, battle the misinformation and that as a result they can win and win well. Now we need to do the same in the fight on Europe. As an issue, Europe has now grown in prominence, people are less loyal to one party than they were, and so we can’t keep hiding in the shadows hoping the issue will go away. It is now time for us to be clear on what we stand for and then to go out and campaign on it.